Back in my teen years I was a big fan of Saturday Night Live as the show got its start.  Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Jane Curtin, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, Garrett Morris, Don Novello, Laraine Newman and of course John Belushi made it worthwhile to be home early on a Saturday night.  I still remember where I was when I found out Belushi was dead.  I had gotten my first job out of college and was out of town on business.  At the motel, I was walking to breakfast and passed a newspaper box with the morning edition headlines announcing his death.  It was so surreal.  Unlike today where you can jump on the Internet to confirm information, I had to go look for other news sources, radio and television, to confirm it was really true.  One point for technology.

Not all change is as easy to adapt to.  While the internet has made it easier to get quick access to information, for me, it has been hard to find a good comedy show that is in tune with society the way Saturday Night Live used to be.  ( Yes, I have watched Jon Stewart and Colbert, but I’m looking for satire of everyday life.) 

I was pleasantly surprised while watching MADtv this weekend.  I usually can’t watch more than five or ten minutes, but it grabbed my attention with a reoccurring segment about a VCR repair company.   (You may recall a previous post where I discussed how the VCR was invented and gone from the face of the earth in less than one lifetime.)  The gags center around phone calls to a VCR repair shop.  In the first segment, the customer is quoted a price of $350 to repair a VCR.  Back in the 70’s when a VCR cost $500 – $700, you might consider fixing your VCR.  Today, throw it away.  While it is hard to find a simple VCR to buy, you can get new VCR and DVD combo for a little over $100.

In the next segment, the customer calls the VCR repair shop because thieves broke into her house and took everything but her VCR.  She wants to disguise her DVD player to look like a VCR in case she gets robbed again.  Talk about being dissed!

So what have we learned.  Be cautious when it comes to investing in new technology whether as a consumer or a business investment.  Don’t buy new technology as soon as it comes out because the price will always go down.  Transfer your videotapes to digital before your VCR breaks.  And good comedy is hard to replace.